London’s Best Vegan Cocktails and Drinks

By Helen Glaberson

After years of being branded as ‘a bit weird’, veganism is now quickly going mainstream. We’re seeing a whole load of new vegan-focused restaurants popping up all over the city, with selections of delicious vegan wines and cocktails to boot. Life as a vegan has never been jollier on a Friday night – you just need to know where to go! Here are a few of our favourite places…

Vegan Cocktails

Ceremony

New trendy veggie spot Ceremony does a great vegan take on the classic gin sour. It’s made with gin, pineapple and cardamom cordial, apricot liqueur and lemon, plus a few drops of Miraculous Foamer, which gives the drink the same foam and texture you’d usually get from the egg white. Apparently one little bottle of the stuff has the equivalent of 100 whites! It’s our new store cupboard staple..

Nine Lives

This new (ish) London Bridge bar has a strong focus on sustainability – and lots of vegan drinks options too. Try the Stringray: a riff on the classic Port Stinger cocktail, swapping retro crème de menthe for fresh mint, with a touch of raspberry to bring out the fruit of the port.

Cub

Mr Lyan’s new restaurant Cub has a totally vegan cocktail menu. The list changes constantly and responds to whatever ingredients are available at the time, but our current fave is the beautiful Goldrush Sour, with Scotch and apples. Try it as part of the tasting menu, which can be easily tweaked to be meat/dairy free.

Redemption

The idea of Redemption bar is that it’s impossible to ‘sin’ in here. They’ve got a fully vegan menu, plus they’re wheat-free, sugar-free and there’s a booze-free cocktail list – so you can actually gain nutrients while drinking. The jet black Black Beauty cocktail is a striking one, made with crushed blackberries, basil and coconut water.

Farmacy

This swish new vegan place in West London is the epitome of new-age veganism, with its fancy flower-garnished plates and gorgeous legging-clad crowd. However, they still mix up some interesting vegan cocktails. The latest is their new Cannabis Oil drinks list, jumping on a trend from New York. Cannabis oil, or CBD, is a non-psychoactive constituent of the flowering plant cannabis, and is renowned for its feel-good potential. Just the boost we need during our gloomy January slump.

Vegan Wine

Wulf & Lamb

New vegan restaurant Wulf & Lamb have a long wine list, as well as a few beers and a cider too. Try the Finca Las Moras Black Label Cabernet Cabernet Reserve 2013, an Argentinian red wine, with spicy aromas of blackberries and a hint of dark chocolate. It goes well with the hearty chili ’non’ carne.

Bottle Bar and Shop

You’re in the right place at Catford’s new off license-bar, which serves solely vegan-friendly cocktails and wines. Try the Thymiopoulos Jeunes Vignes de Xinomavro 2015 (we won’t even try to pronounce it). It has a sweet strawberry perfume that goes super well with a vegan soft cheese. Read our full review of Bottle Bar and Shop here.

Sager + Wilde

Try the Force Majeure Chenin Blanc at one of our favourite wine stops, Sager + Wilde. This Cape Town wine has plenty of ripe apple fruit and spice, which makes it a great accompaniment to Sager’s bitter leaf and pear salad.

NOPI

The wines at NOPI are low-intervention (nothing is added in), which means that pretty much all of them are vegan, too. Try a glass of Aurora, Falerio dei Colli Ascolani – this fresh Italian wine is a great one to cut through the creamy potato and parsnip potato cake.

Vegan beer

Brewdog

This badass punk-style beer chain are not only killing it with their vegan burgers (their Hail Seitan is one of our faves), but the majority of their beers are vegan, too. There’s only a handful you need to avoid that contain milk or honey, so just double check when ordering. Try the BrewDog KingPin – its spicy citrus notes and bitter finish are a good match for that delicious dirty burger…

Sam Smith Pubs

If you dont fancy the rowdiness of a hip Brewdog bar, head to a good old-fashioned Sam Smith pub. Almost all of their beers and ciders are vegan (except their cask-conditioned Old Brewery Bitter and bottled Yorkshire Stingo), and you won’t go thirsty, because there’s a Sam Smith in pretty much every corner of London – from The Princess Louise, Holborn, to The Captain Kidd in Wapping, to Ye Olde Swiss Cottage in, well, Swiss Cottage.

Karamel

This bar/club/cafe/music venue in North London’s Wood Green is not only a million things rolled into one, but it’s also 100% vegan. So go wild on the wine and beer list, such as Organic Pitfields on tap – which you can guzzle until the early hours, since this place also has a late-night licence on weekends. And if you’re in need of more vegan drinking buddies, you can head here for the regular London Vegan Drinks meet-up.

A Vegan Pub

The Spread Eagle

Launching this week is London’s ‘first vegan pub’ – which we reckon will be the first of many… This old Homerton boozer has been transformed into a sanctuary where everything; drinks, food and fittings, are plant-based. The rotating cask ales are specially brewed to avoid using some of the classic finings ingredients (stuff like egg and fish bladders). There’s also a cocktail list with clever vegan takes on classics.